To think that teachers are responsible for the school year

[Babymeanswashing]

Obviously, no other country has long school holidays in the summer. Five and a half weeks is obviously a lot, and given that non teaching spouses and non school age children get to take advantage of nice cheap holidays, I really think teachers need taking to task for this.

OK, there was obviously a heavy dose of sarcasm there in case it goes over anybody’s head, because I’ve been flamed for having the tenacity to teach and am ‘lucky’ because of the holidays.

I’m not fucking ‘lucky’! DP is paid over 80k a year, PLUS a car, PLUS a phone, PLUS gift cards for places like Argos on a regular basis for ‘loyal service.’ And while he has slightly less holiday than I do, he also has a lot more flexibility not only in the year but in his working day.

AIBU to say - go and train as a teacher if you think we are lucky. And I bloody love teaching BTW!

YANBU

I agree, I mean you work from 9am to 3pm for 36 weeks a year, people should cut you some slack really.

Seriously though, you are lucky if you "bloody love" your job, whatever it may be. I don't see the relevance of comparing yourself to your DP, if you thought his work to benefits ratio is better than yours you are free to ditch teaching and get a job similar to his.

I was about to go off untill I realised it was sarcasm 😂 yanbu!! Teacher bashing on here really annoys me

Can’t fault my dcs teachers at all they’ve gone above and beyond all through this pandemic tbh as I knew they would anyway

chain: exactly. I couldn’t because I don’t have the relevant experience, skills or qualifications. That’s my whole point, it isn’t about luck. Of course, if we go back to the root cause and look at societal problems then yes I suppose it is, but that’s hardly my fault.

I agree, I mean you work from 9am to 3pm for 36 weeks a year, people should cut you some slack really.

Seeing as the children in my school enter my classroom at 8:30am and don’t leave until 3:15, you’re immediately wrong even if we discount staff meetings and paperwork.

YANBU

I dunno. I mean teachers work like dogs and certainly my kids’ teachers are wonderful and have gone above and beyond this year.

I don’t however like the narrative that they are the only profession that works long hours though. This is fundamentally untrue. My sister in law (teacher - I am related to many) posted something the other day about how teaching is the only job where you have to do work to prepare to come to work and to be honest that’s just crap.

Who has flamed you for being a teacher?

Luckily the government gave those lazy teachers some proper work to do (for free) with marking all the GCSEs and A-levels themselves. About time too.

Do something else if you hate it so much then?

I have NEVER said that though, anything! Never once, and in fact I am fairly sure many other professions and indeed non professions - regular ‘jobs if you like - work harder.

I’m sure that care workers, people up at 5 to start 6am shifts, people slogging away working nights in warehouses and on motorways and so on, do work a lot harder than me. But why is this my personal responsibility?

My job has certain hours, like all jobs do, that’s just how it goes.

@Knackeredneon

Do something else if you hate it so much then?

I know the comprehension skills on MN are sometimes not the best but this one is one of the better ones

Lots of jobs are difficult. Lots require hours above and beyond 35 or 40 hours a week. Teaching has advantages and disadvantages like any other job.

Most people recognise that. But it's only really teachers who bleat about how they are misunderstood and how difficult their job is.

If you don't like it, leave. I can guarantee the private sector isn't all working 9am to 5pm. I have a teacher in my family. She did 3 years then left to work in banking for a couple of years. Back teaching now as the corporate world was too cut throat for her.

Well you might not have said anything by but plenty do.

I don’t however like the narrative that they are the only profession that works long hours though. This is fundamentally untrue. My sister in law (teacher - I am related to many) posted something the other day about how teaching is the only job where you have to do work to prepare to come to work and to be honest that’s just crap.

The workload is actually impossible, if you were to do everything you were meant to/asked to do. Literally impossible.

I can’t think of any other job that compares in terms of hours worked after/before work and at weekends. I don’t know anyone apart from teachers who do 2-3 hours in the evening after working 8-5 (briefings, meetings, after school cpd, detentions, clubs) and 4 hours at weekends. And it can be much more.

I agree completely and where I teach we get three months holidays. It's fantastic. I also get to spend time with my daughter in the early evening which would have been unheard of in my previous career where I often worked 60 hours a week. I never had a two week holiday before I became a teacher. I never had the security I have now; I've been very ill and wondering if I had a job to go back to didn't enter my head.

So yes there are perks just like in every job. It's not a secret. There are lots of things we don't get which I did in my previous career; big wage packet, flying business class (as apposed to traveling around Europe on a bus during my holidays for no extra pay), restaurants, career progression etc.

If you want to do it, retrain.

So go to their threads then anything

Greenmarmalade I’m a solicitor. There’s one for you.

My teacher sister in law gets paid more than I do, before anyone starts on salary.

I am looking for a way out though.

Most people recognise that. But it's only really teachers who bleat about how they are misunderstood and how difficult their job is.

I think teachers ‘bleat’ because they are underpaid for these hours, and definitely undervalued in society.

Tell me another job with similar workload expectations outside of normal working hours, and which is vilified in the media and by governments.

@Greenmarmalade

I don’t however like the narrative that they are the only profession that works long hours though. This is fundamentally untrue. My sister in law (teacher - I am related to many) posted something the other day about how teaching is the only job where you have to do work to prepare to come to work and to be honest that’s just crap.

The workload is actually impossible, if you were to do everything you were meant to/asked to do. Literally impossible.

I can’t think of any other job that compares in terms of hours worked after/before work and at weekends. I don’t know anyone apart from teachers who do 2-3 hours in the evening after working 8-5 (briefings, meetings, after school cpd, detentions, clubs) and 4 hours at weekends. And it can be much more.

I am fully supportive of teachers and I know how hard their jobs are, however I have to disagree with you. I work in the Big 4, start work at 8am and am regularly still working until 9pm at night. Weekend working is not unusual either, nor is working during annual leave.

That’s exactly it bride

All jobs have got perks and disadvantages.

Sensible people will consider these before embarking on them as a career and if you find it really doesn’t suit you or your life changes, you can change career. If you can’t do that because you don’t have the requisite qualifications or skills, that isn’t the fault of teachers.

The people saying to do something else if I ‘hate it’ are really proving that their reading and comprehension skills are dire. I don’t want to do something else. It’s a great job, it fits in nicely around my own family, it pays well and I enjoy it. But don’t try to make out I am in some sort of highly privileged position, on a par with the aristocracy or something!

I think they “ bleat on “ because I can’t think of other professions where people constantly go on about how cushty it is

The whole “they only work 9-3 term time “ attitude which is incorrect

@Greenmarmalade - this is part of the problem, honestly. I frequently worked more hours than that as an accountant…as do most of my lawyer friends. I agree that teachers work ridiculously hard (DH is one) but they really aren’t the only profession that does…I worked many more hours than he did a year in private practice.

I can’t think of any other job that compares in terms of hours worked after/before work and at weekends. I don’t know anyone apart from teachers who do 2-3 hours in the evening after working 8-5 (briefings, meetings, after school cpd, detentions, clubs) and 4 hours at weekends

I have a lot of respect for teachers. It's a difficult job at times.

But it's only ever on MN that I encounter these teachers who do 60 hour weeks, week in week out. I know a number of teachers in RL and none do 60 hour weeks. Just a few hours of unpaid OT, much like many people with other jobs do. Strange.

I can’t think of any other job that compares in terms of hours worked after/before work and at weekends. I don’t know anyone apart from teachers who do 2-3 hours in the evening after working 8-5 (briefings, meetings, after school cpd, detentions, clubs) and 4 hours at weekends. And it can be much more.

That's unusual I think - most people know someone who does such a role or are at least aware of other jobs that take up as much /more time than teaching and very few of these offer the same perks.

For example, many people who work for themselves do these kinds of hours regularly, only without the job security, holidays, pension and progression.